Marty, Dave and John are back, without Aaron once more who has jetted off to Milan this time to sample some of the local baked goods…
This time around, there’s plenty to chat about, with the EIHL heating up as the mid-point of the season approaches, the NHL starting to get into it’s swing…unless you’re in Arizona… and internationally; Canada and the US have some serious thinking to do in the run up to the Winter Olympics.
As always, we want to give you an idea of what we chat about in each recording, so have a look, have a read and have a click through to the sources of our ramblings!
EIHL and NHL Standings
Belfast Giants Highlights
The Giants fell to a 3-0 loss at home in the first of a forgetful weekend of games…
Before heading to Dundee looking for redemption, only to be sent packing scoreless and pointless, suffering a 2-0 loss in Tayside.
The Giants started to show signs of improvement however the following Wednesday as they just missed out, but took a point against the Panthers at home in a 5-4 OT loss.
Finally however, the funk was broken in dramatic fashion with a 9-3 home rout of the Manchester Storm.
Local News
The EIHL meanwhile was reeling from the issues surrounding the Fretter/Goulakos debacle and decided, thankfully, that change was in order.
The League, following an emergency board meeting, decided to retain the services of Lyle Seitz, former NHL linesman, who along with the Player Safety Committee (PSC), had been caretakers of DOPS for the weeks running up to this following the departure of Simon Kirkham.
As well as this, the League announced sweeping changes to the procedure for the second round of the Challenge Cup competition as the top seeds will choose their opponents from the bottom seeds…it’s funny though, we could’ve sworn we heard someone talk about something similar before…
Meanwhile, the Sheffield Steelers were making their own team history by bouncing back from an early defeat to win their next two Semi-Final games in the Continental Cup to secure a place in the competition’s Super-Final. The Steelers now plan to attempt to bring the final to home ice in the Sheffield Arena. Can they do it?! Check out Sheffield Steelers TV for highlights of their Conti Cup games…if you’re so inclined!
Meanwhile, at the other end of the Elite League spectrum, the Edinburgh Capitals find themselves in potentially dire straits as a co-director steps down and the parent company is wound up in the city’s courts. We await more information this week and will try to update.
International News
Across the pond, rumours abound at the possibility of yet more expansion or franchise moves as NHL Commissioner Bettman meets the billionaire owner of the Houston Rockets in what could be the first steps to bringing hockey to the city.
In a happy ending to a former professional rivalry, Canada’s former Olympic captain Caroline Oulette and US Olympian player Julie Chu, who faced off against each other in 2014 (yet were teammates in Montr...
